Chronology

Selected Events for Vietnam

Congress passes the Tonkin Gulf Resolution giving the President the power to take "all necessary measures" to "prevent further (Communist) aggression" in South Vietnam.

November

03

Lyndon Johnson is elected President in a landslide victory over Barry Goldwater.

1965

March

08

In U.S. v. Seeger the Supreme Court extended conscientious objector status to those who do not necessarily believe in a supreme being, but who oppose war based on sincere beliefs that are equivalent to religious faith.

President Johnson sends the first U.S. ground troops into action, a crucial turning point in the American involvement in the Vietnam War. At the beginning of the year there are 25,000 American troops; by the end of that year there are 185,000.

March

24

The first antiwar teach-in is held at the University of Michigan. At first, both supporters and opponents of the war attend the teach-ins. Before long, the campus teach-ins become anti-war rallies.

April

17

15,000 students march in Washigton during a VietNam War protest sponsored by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

1966

March

26

20,000 - 30,000 people demonstrate against the Vietnam War in New York City.

May

16

Martin Luther King, Jr. presents an antiwar statement at a Washington DC Vietnam protest rally. King agrees to serve as a co-chairman of Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam.

1967

April

04

Martin Luther King, Jr delivers an antiwar address, "Beyond Vietnam: Time to Break the Silence" at a meeting of the Clergy and Laity Concerned About Vietnam at Riverside Church in New York City.

100,000 people March on the Pentagon to protest the Vietnam War. The March includes appearances by Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman, author Norman Mailer, poet Robert Lowell and pediatrician Benjamin Spock. This is one of many demonstrations during the year.

1968

January

15

The Jeanette Rankin Brigade, a coalition of women's peace groups, demonstrates at the opening of the U.S. Congress against the Vietnam War.

January

30

North Vietnamese and National Liberation Front forces launch the Tet Offensive. The savage attacks on the cities of South Vietnam are designed to destroy the South Vietnamese army, force the U.S. to withdraw from Vietnam, and topple the Saigon regime.

March

16

An army platoon led by Lieutenant William Calley massacres hundreds of South Vietnamese civilians in the hamlet of My Lai.

More than 1,000 protesting students occupy five buildings in the last week of April 1968, effectively shutting down Columbia University until they are forcibly removed by the New York City police.

August

05

Richard Nixon is chosen the Presidential nominee by the Republicans.

August

26

Hubert Humphrey is chosen as the Democratic Presidential nominee.

December

31

During the year, over 14,000 Americans are killed in Vietnam combat, 150,000 are wounded..

1969

April

30

U.S.forces reach their combat peak in Vietnam at 543,000 troops.

November

15

250,000 people march in the largest anti-war demonstration in the history of Washington DC. Another 200,00 people gather in the Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

December

01

The first draft lottery since 1942 begins. This event determined the order of call for induction during calendar year 1970, that is, for registrants born between January 1, 1944, and December 31, 1950.

Captain Ernest Medina is charged with murder for his participation at My Lai. This event leads to the My Lai Courts-Martial. On March 29, 1970 Lt. William L. Calley Jr. is convicted of premeditated murder in the My Lai massacre.

President Richard Nixon announces to a national television audience that US troops are invading Cambodia, the country west of Vietnam through which the North Vietnamese military is supplying their troops in the South. In fact, the US has been conducting bombing raids in Cambodia for over a year. The invasion initiates campus protests.

Four students are killed by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio. The killings shocked the American public and generated hundreds of protest activities across college campuses in the United States.

May

04

The Cambodian invasion leads to campus protests. Four demonstrating students are killed and 10 wounded by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio. The killings shocked the American public and increase protest activities across college campuses in the United States.

June

30

Invasion of Cambodia ends.

1971

February

South Vietnam and the U.S. invade Laos in an attempt to sever the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

June

13

The New York Times begins publishing the top-secret Pentagon Papers, which explore the U.S. decision-making process regarding South Vietnam.